Homemade Wort Chiller

Let me start by saying I am a little excited. Also I am unemployed and bored. I decided to make a wort chiller. I am not a tech person so i was a bit skeptical. So I tried it and it looked pretty poor but wanted to test it. I boiled 3 gallons of water in my brew pot. It was at about 208 degress f. I know 212 is boiling but i got bored and didnt think it would work. It went from 208 to 75 in about 11 minutes. I think that is good. Can someone tell me if that time is good? Would wort be slower?

thats good, since wort is about 90% water, water will give you a good idea.

nicely done nordo! Wheres the how to step by step instructions....since your board?

No seriously I'd like to do this myself if it'll save me money

StarCityBrewMaster said:

nicely done nordo! Wheres the how to step by step instructions....since your board?

No seriously I'd like to do this myself if it'll save me money

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1. You need to buy soft copper tubing. I use 3/8 diameter. They come in all different sizes. You should have at least 25 feet but at homedepot they only had 20 feet for 21 dollars. So I made it work.

2. You will also need to get a hose with about 3/8 outer diameter to stick on each end and tighten with hose clamps. I got 10 feet and cut it in half with 5 foot on each end.

3. Next you need to tighten the coil of copper to your desired radius, you want about two inches on each side of your brew pot, so if your brewpot is 18 inches across, you want your coils to measure about 14 wide leaving 2 inches on the sides. I wrapped the coil around a coffee can as it was the correct radius for me.

4. Next you need to bend the bottom at a 90 degree angle to go straight up and curve it out of your brewpot. The top end you need to pretty much do the same but you should already be near the top. Try not to get a kink in the copper. Take your time. I did get a little kink but it still seems to work ok.

5. The top tube will empty the water, so no need to adjust. The tube coming from the bottom needs to attach to a water source. I bought a fitting for the hose to my kitchen faucet for 3.00.

6. Thats pretty much it. It cost me like 25 dollars. Again it doesnt look pretty but worked well. I will include another picture.

Those are great numbers. 11 min?! Nothing to argue with there! I'm sure wort has a higher specific heat (scientific way to say it takes more energy change temperature) because of the addition of sugars and other things but the differences in numbers on our end will be minimal. Great job on that chiller!

I have that exact same brewpot and will probably be making a wort chiller close to what you did. Looks great!

DavidHawman said:

I have that exact same brewpot and will probably be making a wort chiller close to what you did. Looks great!

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I believe the pot was a walmart special. The wort chiller was pretty easy to make. good luck

I am making one of these this weekend. This is good stuff

I made my own several years ago with great success. I found that in the summer I had to use a prechiller in an ice bath to get the temp down quick enough for a good cold break.

I've put pictures and lessons learned at olderascal.com/wortchiller

Hopefully this will help the unintiated. BTW, I didn't do it because I couldn't get it, but the 3/8" tubing is the way to go.

On this same vein, are there any specific types of aquarium pumps that I should look for or stay away from? I'm not a total hipster or anything but I kinda have an issue with running water like that for so long, seems just as easy to fill the sink with ice packs and water and recirculate through. will probably cool it a lot faster that way too.

I have a buddy who uses this method with great success. He has a 1/6 hp sump pump that goes in the cold water, uses a garden hose attachment, and gets the temp down super quick while saving water.

seems like it's not very economical to dyi these days. i checked at lowes for copper.. 20' of 3/8" was $37 (not to mention tubing and fittings). You can buy a 25' 3/8" chiller from amazon for around $50 shipped.

i made mine only because i had a gift card, it isnt economical to make one if you get the stuff from lowes

Lowes website says 24.13 for 3/8 copper tubing. The 1/2"x20' is 37 bucks. With fittings and vinyl it should be under 40 bucks.

It's 100% cheaper to DYI. Yea there are $50 chillers but they are ~20 ft. For $50 you can do a rib-cage style 50ft chiller which will vastly out perform the manufactured ones. Or if you are really on a budget, for $50 you can do a 20-30ft chiller with a submersible pump.

yeah, diy is a lot cheaper. if you go the 50' route premade they are over $100. The pricing on the tubing does vary but if you search around it can be had for a reasonable price. I'm a newbie but in my limited experience in buying ball valves and other little things, when I go to a mom and pop shop and ultimately tell them what I'm using it for, they think it's cool and they cut me discounts! I got 10% off a pot a restaurant supply store because the guy said "oh, thats ****ing cool. I'm gonna tell the boss your a chef and give you the 10% discount. if you need other stuff come back I'll hoook you up." went to the little mom and pop shop just looking for some couplings and o rings and once I told the guy what they were for he said, "Here, take em. Just bring some beer back here when your done!" granted it was only a couple of bucks of product, but I'll be sure to hit his store up for other things I may need.

just got back from lowes in Brooklyn. I paid $60 for $50 of 3/8 tubing. my brew shop had the 3 clamps I needed for $1 a piece and the garden hose connector for $3 and another $3 for the connector to add to my faucet to be able to use the garden hose total cost $79. I've seen the 50 foot models for well over $100 so it saved me the cost of grain for my next batch!

i spent 40 bux for both the tubing and all hardware to hook it up to the faucet compared to the 70 for the brewers one from the store. I have a few kinks in it but still works good. I think if i make it again i know how to roll it better. but works alot better than ice water in the sink